The 118C, one of the Milwaukee Road engines on the 1985 IRM calendar, was built in 1951 by the Electro Motive
Division of General Motors in LaGrange, Ill. It has a 16-567 BC engine (16-cylinder, 567 cubic inch displacement per
cylinder) and produces 1500 HP with a top speed of 800 RPM. The maximum speed of the locomotive is 60 MPH.

By the summer of 1983, the Museum's diesel collection had grown to five units with the addition of Milwaukee Road
760 and the Minneapolis Northfield & Southern 21. With the pending acquisition of the Toledo, Peoria & Western
400, the Museum was acquiring some fine examples of internal combustion locomotives. One diesel that was
lacking in the collection was the widely recognized F unit or "covered wagon." This term refers to a locomotive in
which the entire unit is enclosed as opposed to a locomotive like the GP7 where only the engine is enclosed and the
walkways are open. Other railroads had been contacted for a donation, but nothing to date had been forthcoming and
the Milwaukee Road was disposing of its remaining F units.

Tom Schneider and Roger Kramer contacted the Milwaukee Road again, knowing it still had locomotives in the
"dead line" where units were stored that had been taken out of service, awaiting disposition. Asking for a donation
was out of the question because the Milwaukee Road was going through bankruptcy proceedings, but purchasing an
F or an FP was very possible. (An F refers to a
freight unit and an FP to a freight-passenger unit. This latter unit was approximately 4 feet longer than an F unit
because of greater boiler water capacity.) Schneider made a number of phone calls, and finally the Salvage
Disposition Dept. of the Milwaukee Road set a $6,500 price, FOB anywhere on the Milwaukee system. It was
decided to raise funds to purchase the locomotive by printing flyers and distributing them to Museum members and
various historical groups. Schneider and Kramer donated much of the money needed to purchase the 118C.

Side view of the Milwaukee Road 118C after repainting in preparation
for the calendar photo.

Next it had to be decided which locomotive should be saved. Schneider and Kramer inspected the units stored at
Bensenville and found the FP97A best. The board of directors decided that an F unit was preferable to an FP since it
was more representative of the models of covered wagons built. One problem in finding a suitable unit was that the
body side panels on F and FP locomotives had a tendency to rust because the style of construction was to
sandwich plywood between two pieces of sheet metal. The wood eventually became wet, and the metal would
naturally rust.

In September 1983, Schneider and Kramer went to Milwaukee to inspect the F units stored there. After inspecting
each unit for its good and bad points and comparing the inspection reports on every stored locomotive, they decided
the 118C was the best of the lot.

The 118C arrived at IRM on April 16, 1984. The locomotive was operable, but the exterior was in poor condition, and
attention was immediately turned towards improving its appearance.

The initial reason for the exterior restoration was to get a picture of the three IRM-owned Milwaukee Road
locomotives (the Fairbanks-Morse 760, the 265, and the 118C) suitable for the 1985 calendar. Principally through the
efforts of Bruce Bergman, Glen Hopkins and Victor Humphreys, the locomotive was needle chipped and body work
done to get the engine ready for painting. John Huckstorf was hired to do all the painting. Glass for the number
boards and portholes was cut by Bill McGregor. The numbers for the boards were painted on by Jim Phelps.

There was also a great deal of mechanical and electrical work to be done on the engine. Carl Illwitzer and Dave Dote
performed crankcase and airbox inspections, replaced lube oil, fuel oil and air intake filters and water tested the
engine to see if it held water and if there were any leaks. Both water pumps did leak, and Duane Tudor rebuilt them.

Tudor and Phelps washed the traction motors with electrical cleaner. This cleaning resulted in the accummulation of
dirt and grease on the motor brush holders which also had to be cleaned. Dote then cleaned the brushes on the
traction motors at the bridge on the mainline because this location provided the easiest access to the bottom motor
covers. Worn and chipped brushes were also replaced at this time.

The main and auxiliary generators were cleaned and inspected by Sharon Glaski and Diane Thill and Tudor replaced
the automatic air valve and feed valve.

Though the engine does need more mechanical work, it is a reliable, operating locomotive that does some switching.
The people involved in the visual restoration did a super job, and it is now one of the best-looking pieces of
equipment at IRM.